Oct 20 • General discussion
Why I Love Fasting for Self-Healing and Weight Loss 🙌
I know fasting can feel intimidating, believe me, I get it! I was terrified the first time I fasted for longer than 24 hours. The idea of going without food sounds very traumatizing at first. But what I've learned is that our bodies are so much more capable than we think. Let me walk you through what's actually happening hour by hour so you can see why this has become one of my favorite tools for both healing and weight loss.
The First 12 Hours: "Emptying the Sink"
This is when your body is still burning through the food from your last meal. You might feel a bit hungry during this phase, that's totally normal! Your body is just sending signals that it's running through the available food. Here's a cool tip: if you want to speed through this phase, this is actually a great time for cardio exercise because you're burning through that stored glucose faster.
Hours 12-16: The Gateway to Fat Burning
This is where the magic starts. Your insulin levels from your previous meal have finally dropped to a low baseline, and you're officially entering fat-burning mode. Your body has a sensor called AMPK that detects when you need to start tapping into stored fuel, and this is when it is activating!
During this phase, light walking is your best friend. It helps accelerate fat burning and makes you feel so much better. And here's something beautiful - your body starts diverting energy to your BRAIN. From a survival perspective, when we go without food, we need mental clarity to find food, right? So you might actually feel more focused and clear-headed!
Hours 16-24: The Goldilocks Zone
Okay, this is where people have been misled for years. Around 16 hours, your body starts something called gluconeogenesis, and experts have told us this means you're "breaking down muscle." That's just not true. The research shows you don't start wasting muscle until you're fasting for longer than 36 hours (and even then, it's minimal if you're getting enough calories during your eating periods).
Here's what's really happening: Your body is taking components of fat and turning them into glucose. We don't need to eat carbohydrates to have glucose, our bodies can make it from fat! And your body prefers to take it from fat rather than muscle because muscle is metabolically important.
What's happening during these hours:
🔥 Peak Fat Burning - The 16-24 hour mark is the sweet spot for fat loss. Your body is a little "inefficient" at breaking down fat at this stage, so it's working hard and burning extra fat. This is why people get a surge of energy around 20 hours, you're flooded with fuel!
đź’§ You Might Feel Thirsty - This is normal. Low insulin levels cause your kidneys to release extra water. If you feel foggy or tired, it's probably an electrolyte issue, not a metabolic one. Add a little salt or unflavored and unsweetened electrolytes and you'll feel better.
✨ Autophagy Ramps Up - This is your body's scavenging system. Your body is trimming the weak cells and making the strong ones even stronger. It's happening when you fast, when you exercise, even in the sauna. And you can stack these benefits together if you really want to ramp up intensity as you move forward in the program.
🧬 Mitophagy - This is huge! This is cellular recycling at the mitochondrial level. Your mitochondria have their own DNA, and when we fast, we get rid of the weak mitochondria and create better ones. This is like compound interest for your cells, good mitochondria create MORE good mitochondria, which means better fat burning, better mental energy, better brain function, and less insulin resistance.
đź’š Gut Repair Kicks In - Around 20 hours, gut stem cells really start working. Here's the thing: every time we eat, we're not giving our gut a chance to repair. In today's world, we constantly eat, eat, eat. But our gut needs a break! When you're not eating, that's when the gut heals. Period. This is why is is a good idea to include gut healthy fermented foods when breaking your fast.
Hours 24-30: The Ketosis Phase
This is where you feel REALLY good. You have almost no hunger because ketones naturally blunt hunger. Your joints don't hurt. You feel loose and clear. Here's why:
🧠Your Brain Feels amazing- Ketones help shift your brain from an anxious, excitatory state (glutamate) to a calm, focused state (GABA). You know that saying "slow is smooth, smooth is fast"? A calm brain is a fast brain! You're without food, yet you feel calm, cool, and collected.
🌟 BDNF Surge - Brain-derived neurotrophic factor increases, which improves neuroplasticity. Your brain feels clearer, you can take on new tasks, you have different outlooks - it's a tremendous feeling!
🔥 Inflammation Drops - Ketones actually squash inflammation at a master level. This is why your body feels so good!
Hours 30+: The Metabolic Sweet Spot
Even though fat loss slightly slows down after 30 hours, this is where the metabolic benefits with insulin resistance really kick in. You've gone approximately 20 hours with really low insulin levels, and your body is re-sensitizing itself. When you eat carbohydrates again, your body will have better insulin sensitivity and less insulin resistance.
Your body has learned it can use fats and ketones for fuel, not just glucose! This is life-changing for the 94% of us dealing with some degree of metabolic dysfunction.
Here's My Encouragement:
After 48 hours, the benefits start to plateau, so you don't need to go crazy with super long fasts. The 16-36 hour range is where a lot of the magic happens!
Start where you are. Build up gradually. And know that your body is designed for this. This is how God created us, with built-in healing mechanisms that activate when we give our bodies the space to work.
In just 30 hours, you can: lower insulin, increase fat loss, improve visceral fat, clean up cells, reboot your gut, increase brain health, boost autophagy and mitophagy, and possibly even improve your mitochondrial DNA. How long would that take with just traditional calorie restriction? You're cramming all these benefits into 30 hours!
And I want to make sure I mention one of the most important benefits:
The Spiritual Connection 🙏
Here's something beautiful that I don't want us to miss, fasting has been a spiritual practice for thousands of years for a reason. When we fast, we're not just experiencing physical benefits; we're creating space for deeper connection with God. There's something powerful that happens when we quiet the constant need to feed our physical bodies. We become more aware of our need to feed our spirits. Fasting helps us break free from being controlled by our appetites and cravings, and it reminds us that we don't live by bread alone. It's a form of worship, of surrender, of saying "God, You are enough for me." Many people find that during fasting, prayer becomes clearer, Scripture speaks louder, and that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit is easier to hear. The mental clarity and calm that comes from fasting isn't just biological - it's creating space for spiritual breakthrough. When we deny our flesh, we're strengthening our spirit. It's a beautiful reminder that we are more than just physical beings, and that true satisfaction comes from Him, not from food.
You've got this, and I'm right here with you guiding and supporting you along the way.
Drop a 🙋‍♀️ if you're ready to give fasting a try or if you have questions!
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Why I Love Fasting for Self-Healing and Weight Loss 🙌
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